For the past four decades, the name Constantino has been familiar at Fonda Speedway, and after this past Saturday's Sportsman feature event, you can add Chip Constantino to the win list.

Constantino took the race lead from Dan Santabarbara on the seventh time around during the 20-lap Sportsman finale, but his victory wasn't without incident.

"On the original start I got a little antsy and jumped the start, so they put me back to third place and made it a little harder for me," Constantino, 31, said.

He was surprised at how surreal the ride was.

"After I got the lead back, I couldn't see or hear anybody," Constantino said. "I kept wondering: Where are they? Where's Dave (his brother), or where's Rocky (Warner)?"

It was Constantino's first victory at the oval.

"I started racing in 2009 and raced at Glen Ridge for two seasons, and I think we won six races in those two years," said Constantino, who would joke with his struggling race buddies about how easy the sport was.

That changed quickly.

His dad. John, raced at Fonda for a long time — in fact, he still races a vintage car — and his brother has about 12 years behind the wheel. So he wanted a win at Fonda Speedway, and it didn't come easily.

"It was a long time coming," Constantino said. "This definitely came from a lot of hard work, and it is like a weight has been lifted. The monkey is off our back, finally."

After his race team celebrated the victory, Constantino's car sported a "for sale" sign.

"I kind of half-jokingly told Dave and the crew that the only thing left on my 'bucket list' for racing is to win at Fonda," Constantino said, "so when I get that win, I'm going to retire."

Something tells me the recent taste of Fonda success will keep the Constantino name on the weekly roster.

"We have been watching the weather, and we are really hoping the rain won't come until after 9:30 or 10 p.m., so we should be all right," Hearn said early Tuesday afternoon.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a different plan for Hearn's annual — and very successful — promotional event.

They held the qualifying events, consolation events and two 20-lap Sportsman feature events, which were won by Joey Scarborough and Jeremy Pitts. But on the 11th lap of the finale — the 100-lap Modified feature event — they had to pull the plug because of bad storms.

An impressive field of cars made the trip to the Lyle DeVore-promoted Malta oval. Car counts showed 44 Modifieds and 62 Sportsman automobiles.

"This is a track and a race that anybody can come in here and win," Hearn said. "It's not a track that you have to come to with your best motor that you can lay your hands on, because it's a driver's track."